Is the Jaguars' QB Situation Settled or Isn't It?

[madaslives911]

From the AOL Fanhouse:

Is the Jaguars' QB Situation Settled or Isn't It?
Mar 23rd 2007 by David J. Warner

When Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio announced that Byron Leftwich would be the starting QB for his team in 2007, we all figured that was that. Some folks, however, just don't want to leave it alone. Don Banks of Sports Illustrated, for example, thinks this matter is far from settled:

There's still speculation within the league that Leftwich, who's entering the final year of his rookie contract and last played in a game in Week 7 of 2006, could be on the move before this offseason is done. Where to? Well, Leftwich would seem a decent fit in Oakland if Russell is not the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Part of that speculation may be stemming from this article about David Garrard, which paints the backup QB as some who still has something to prove -- and after last season, he probably does. His only shot to start will come if Leftwich gets hurt again, because there's very little chance of a trade here. Of course, given Leftwich's injury history, Garrard may still have a better shot than most backups have in the NFL.

As for Leftwich, who has talked the ears off his coaches while saying nothing to the media, he has informed the team that he'll be skipping voluntary team workouts in favor of his own workout plan in South Florida. Naturally, Del Rio wasn't pleased with this, but he wasn't too pleased when Fred Taylor skipped voluntary workouts last year, and how did that turn out? If Leftwich is putting in as much effort as Taylor says he is, Del Rio has nothing to worry about. Garrard, on the other hand...

[Keyser_WV]

I wouldn't want either guy as my starter. They need to go out and get a decent QB at some point.

Leftwich should play baseball with that windup. That throwing motion will never cut it in the NFL.

Garrard seems like more of a backup to me.

I would try to trade Leftwich to see if they can get any value out of him.

Fantasy wise all Jags receivers are downgraded if Leftwich or Garrard start.

[mrblitz]

I believe that Leftwich should get one last turn at it. I think if Byron should falter early, he's done for good. And Garrard will be a formidable starter. The problem is I believe that Leftwich has more upside potential than Garrard.

[treat24]

Yeah, I think you give Leftwich another shot and put him on the shortest leash available at the pet store. Either one can do ok, but I think they have to start looking for a better starter.

[smackthefirst]

I guess I'm in the minority here with Keyser, but I think Lefty should be traded. Even if he is the starter next year, he will be on a short leash. So there are two outcomes. Outcome A is he stinks again and gets pulled in favor of Garrard. Then at season's end, Lefty is gone. Option B is Lefty actually gets it together (which I don't see) and performs well. Problem there is that he will be a FA next year and if he has a good season, he will test the market and most likely leave.

So Jacksonville needs to look at this in terms of do we want some value, or will we be willing to give him a large contract? If they aren't ready to do a contract assuming he does well, I would get what I could for him now.

However, if Jacksonville shops him around and doesn't get any worthy offers, then you must keep him and roll the dice. I have a gut feeling the Jags did shop him quietly and weren't able to get any worthy offers, but that is just a hunch on my part.

[Munboy]

I guess I'm in the minority here with Keyser, but I think Lefty should be traded. Even if he is the starter next year, he will be on a short leash. So there are two outcomes. Outcome A is he stinks again and gets pulled in favor of Garrard. Then at season's end, Lefty is gone. Option B is Lefty actually gets it together (which I don't see) and performs well. Problem there is that he will be a FA next year and if he has a good season, he will test the market and most likely leave.

So Jacksonville needs to look at this in terms of do we want some value, or will we be willing to give him a large contract? If they aren't ready to do a contract assuming he does well, I would get what I could for him now.

However, if Jacksonville shops him around and doesn't get any worthy offers, then you must keep him and roll the dice. I have a gut feeling the Jags did shop him quietly and weren't able to get any worthy offers, but that is just a hunch on my part.

I wouldn't hand the keys to the franchise to either QB. When Leftwich actually makes it onto the field (injury prone!) he's an average QB at best. The only time Garrard shines is when he's scrambling. The problem for JAX is the QB talent pool is shallow. Right off the top of my head, the best QB to hit the market this year was Garcia. I'm suprised they didnt make a play for Plummer and Schaub was way overpriced. They should make sure they get a good prospect in the draft and let him sit behind Leftwich a year and then give him the keys next year.

[smackthefirst]

From what I'm seeing on a few different mocks and on local Jax message boards, the consensus is that Jax is targeting Trent Edwards with their 3rd round pick.

I agree that neither QB in Jax right now is the answer and getting a young QB to groom for a season is the best approach. However, I still believe that if it is pretty much a done deal that Lefty is gone by 2008, then the Jags should try and get what they can for him now. This assumes they can get something of value for him, which may be why he has not been moved.

Normally, I wouldn't try to move a player just because he's likely to leave in a season; but Jax is slightly different. The reason I say this is that Garrard isn't much of a step back, if a step back at all, from Lefty.